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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25111669">Chloe's Jagged Ride</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tptplayer5701/pseuds/tptplayer5701'>tptplayer5701</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>"Mind Games"-verse [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure, Akumatized Chloé Bourgeois, Butterfly Miraculous, Chloé Bourgeois is NOT okay!, Established Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Female Friendship, Friendship, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Manipulative Lila Rossi, Miraculous Holder Sabrina Raincomprix, POV Chloé Bourgeois, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Service Dogs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:48:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,516</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25111669</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tptplayer5701/pseuds/tptplayer5701</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A "Mind Games"-verse story:</p><p>Chloe was walking down the sidewalk on her way back to Le Grand Paris after dark, a dog leash clutched tightly in one hand. The streetlamps cast strange shadows with the trees and trashcans and old, graffiti-covered bus stops. Bee-atrice stopped to sniff at the streetlight a few meters in from the street corner before lifting her leg to mark the spot. Impatiently, Chloe pulled her jacket around herself a little tighter against the chill in the air.</p><p>“Hey, sweetie, how ‘bout a goodnight kiss?”</p><p>Chloe froze on hearing the rasping voice coming from the dark alleyway she had just passed. The voice stirred up unpleasant memories. Memories of a Spartan white room, four concrete walls and an uncomfortable spring cot. Memories of eyeball-searing white light, hunger, and thirst. Memories of this voice threatening her and worse, of the lecherous look in the eyes of the man it belonged to.</p><p>Excellent.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Chloé Bourgeois, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Chloé Bourgeois &amp; Jagged Stone, Chloé Bourgeois &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Chloé Bourgeois &amp; Principal Damocles, Chloé Bourgeois &amp; Sabrina Raincomprix, Fang &amp; Jagged Stone (Miraculous Ladybug), Max Kanté/Sabrina Raincomprix, Principal Damocles &amp; Jagged Stone (Miraculous Ladybug)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>"Mind Games"-verse [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666807</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a direct sequel to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24752512/chapters/59844445">“The Queen is Dead”</a> as well as <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24185515/chapters/58253314">“A Jagged Ride with the Owl.”</a> You don’t necessarily need to read the latter story to understand this one, but it picks up with Chloe still trying to deal with everything that happened in “The Queen is Dead.”</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="Preference">Chloe was walking down the sidewalk on her way back to Le Grand Paris after dark, a dog leash clutched tightly in one hand. The streetlamps cast strange shadows with the trees and trashcans and old, graffiti-covered bus stops. Bee-atrice, her new Papillon puppy, stopped to sniff at the streetlight a few meters in from the street corner before lifting her leg to mark the spot. Impatiently, Chloe pulled her jacket around herself a little tighter against the chill in the air. It may be after Easter and pleasant during the day, but there was still a chill in the air once the sun went down. She drew the hood up over her head and tugged the drawstring tight to shield herself from the biting wind. Ordinarily, Chloe wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something so… unfashionable. But, that, that was the point, wasn’t it? And no one was on the streets at this time of night to recognize her.</p><p class="Preference">“Hey, sweetie, how ‘bout a goodnight kiss?”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe froze on hearing the rasping voice coming from the dark alleyway she had just passed. The voice stirred up unpleasant memories. Memories of a Spartan white room, four concrete walls and an uncomfortable spring cot. Memories of eyeball-searing white light, hunger, and thirst. Memories of this voice threatening her and worse, of the lecherous look in the eyes of the man it belonged to. Memories that threatened to send her into a state of sheer panic. And yet, Chloe pressed the fear down and instead allowed her anger and loathing for the man responsible for her torment to bubble to the surface and boil over into an ice-cold rage. Her eyes took on a steely glint, her expression hardened.</p><p class="Preference"><em>Excellent</em>.</p><p class="Preference">“Why, dear me, I seem to have gotten lost,” Chloe responded in a falsely-high-pitched voice, affecting an American drawl she’d picked up from <em>Gone with the Wind</em> (<em>why did Adrien insist on picking </em>that<em> movie for movie night?</em>). She tightened her grip on Bee-atrice’s leash. “If only some big strong man could help me home and tuck me in safe.” She rolled her eyes on hearing the guffaws coming from the alleyway where the Voice was waiting. Turning to face the alley, she sashayed closer and called, “Why don’t you come out here and show me how a big, strong man like you would treat a helpless girl like me?”</p><p class="Preference">The man leaning against the alley wall in the deep shadow cast by the streetlights pushed off and stepped out into the yellow light. The arms he folded across his broad, muscular chest looked to be thicker around than Chloe’s waist. The last time she had seen this particular thug, he had ogled her down her ripped and torn shirt, and pushed her into a state of utter terror. But last time, she’d been confused and delirious from a week of isolation and torture. Not anymore. Her eyes narrowed in a calculating look and she sized him up quickly.</p><p class="Preference">“Do you need a little help, sweet thing?”</p><p class="Preference">“Not as much as you still need a breath mint, Rene.” Rene’s eyes widened in surprise on recognizing her voice without the accent, but Chloe didn’t give him an opportunity to respond. She took one step forward, until they were less than a meter apart, and jerked her knee up into his groin, <em>hard</em>. Rene shrieked in agony and dropped to his knees, his face centimeters from Chloe’s waist. She leaned down close to his face and whispered, “That was for Pollen. But this–” she smacked him in the nose with her open palm. His nose made a sickening <em>crack</em> and blood spurted out, running down his face and onto his shirt. “–That was for me.” She gave him a shove on both shoulders, and he fell over onto his back, arms splayed to either side, blood trickling down his cheek from the busted nose. Bee-atrice let out a high-pitched yip and growled at Rene. Chloe knelt next to his head and tugged the leash to keep the puppy close. “Now stay down, Rene: I’ve got a few questions for you, and you will <em>not</em> enjoy my method of… <em>questioning</em> you.” She smirked maliciously.</p><p class="Preference">“Hey!” a voice shouted from the shadows. Chloe suddenly became aware of the clamor of pounding footsteps coming from deeper within the alleyway. She glanced up just in time to duck and roll to the side and avoid the baseball bat someone had swung at her head.</p><p class="Preference">“Don’t you know it’s not polite to hit a lady?” she taunted, releasing the leash and springing to her feet as the man with the bat stumbled past her. She swung her purse in a tight arc and struck him in the back of the head, knocking him off-balance. He tripped and caught himself with one hand. “Not very <em>gentlemanly</em> of you!”</p><p class="Preference">She stepped further into the shadows within the alley, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw a trio of muscular men charging her. The one in front brought up a handgun and pointed it at her from no more than five meters away. Chloe looked around desperately for cover, but the alleyway was empty. She was just about to dive out of the way and hope for the best when she felt a sudden surge of power rush through her and her vision was obscured by a flash of yellow light.</p><p class="Preference">“It took you long enough!” Chloe commented, grinning in relief, when she felt the telepathic connection form. The top was up and spinning in front of her instantly, a moment before the man opened fire. Sent-Bee allowed him to get off two shots before ducking, spinning away from his aim, and looping her top around his legs. She tugged once on the string, pulling him off-balance, and he fell to the ground with a solid thud.</p><p class="Preference">“You realize I actually have a life, don’t you?” Impératrice Pourpre replied tiredly through their connection.</p><p class="Preference">“Does that life involve rescuing your best friend in the whole world from a gang of vicious rapist thug jackasses intent on turning her into a sex toy?” Sent-Bee casually asked, leaping into a flip. She landed on her hands between the last two men, kicked her legs together into the man in front of her, and knocked him tumbling head-over-heels. She allowed her momentum to carry her with him and landed on her feet atop the man’s chest. He wheezed sickeningly. “Because your life definitely involves rescuing me from these rapist thugs!”</p><p class="Preference">“And let me guess,” Impératrice Pourpre commented wryly. “You <em>just happened</em> to be walking your dog down the street in the bad part of town, several kilometers from the hotel, where you <em>just happened</em> to be in the right place at the right time to bump into the same guys who held you prisoner for a week and stole your miraculous. And you <em>just happened</em> to get into a fight with them instead of running down the street to the police station less than a block away. And <em>then</em> you <em>just happened</em> to feel extreme emotions that I could have sensed in a coma, just in time for me to send you an Akuma and rescue you from getting shot!”</p><p class="Preference">“Exactly!” Sent-Bee answered, smirking. “What can I say,” she continued, ducking and punching the last man standing twice in the gut, “I just have <em>terrible</em> luck these days.” She swept the man’s legs out from under him, caught the crowbar he’d thrown into the air, and bent it into a bow before casually dropping it on his head and strolling down the alley past the unconscious thugs. “Why, just this morning it took me forty whole minutes to get the tangles out of my hair! Can you imagine that? <em>Tangles</em>, girl, <em>tangles</em>!”</p><p class="Preference">“Please,” Impératrice Pourpre retorted, “I know when you wake up in the morning. It did <em>not</em> take you forty minutes to do your hair before school!”</p><p class="Preference">“Oh, fine,” Sent-Bee grunted, wrapping her top string around the torso of the man with the bat, who was trying to stumble to his feet. “Maybe it was just thirty-nine minutes.”</p><p class="Preference">“I’m sure.”</p><p class="Preference">“But I still had to walk Bee before school, and she took forever to get ready!”</p><p class="Preference">“Doesn’t Jean walk her in the morning? And isn’t <em>Bee</em> normally the one waiting on <em>you</em> for her walk? And–”</p><p class="Preference">“Okay, maybe it <em>is</em> just me,” Sent-Bee admitted. She tugged the top string, pulling the man toward her at the same moment that she spun into a kick, hitting him in the head and knocking him out cold. “But you know me: I just seem to attract this kind of trouble!”</p><p class="Preference">Sent-Bee looked around, admiring her handiwork. All four of the guys hiding in the alley were unconscious around her. Bee-atrice was nuzzling at the one at the end of the alley, tugging gently on his ear and growling. “Venom!” she called, recalling the top back to her. It converted into a squirt-gun in her hand and she casually shot all four of her would-be attackers with blobs of Venom. She typed a quick message on her communicator and stepped back to admire her handiwork.</p><p class="Preference">“That’s the problem, Chlo,” Impératrice Pourpre commented, “I <em>do</em> know you. And we need to talk.”</p><p class="Preference">Sent-Bee groaned. “Aw, can’t it wait?” she asked innocently, returning to the alley entrance and scooping Bee-atrice up in her arms. She looked up and down the street and frowned. She could see a small pool of blood near the entrance to the alley, but no Rene. “Rene was here just a minute ago, but now he’s gone. I’m pretty sure I saw him run down the street before the Akuma arrived. If I hurry, I might be able to catch him! Maybe he’ll lead me to Lynchpin tonight!”</p><p class="Preference">“Chloe.”</p><p class="Preference">Sent-Bee shrugged and leaned against the streetlight. Flashing lights were approaching from the distance. “Ugh, fine. What’s wrong?”</p><p class="Preference">“You are,” Impératrice Pourpre replied in exasperation. “This is the third night in a row, and the fifth this week, that you’ve ‘just happened’ to be wandering around the wrong part of town at the wrong time of the night and ‘just happened’ to bump into a bunch of guys we all know are working for Lynchpin! You <em>have</em> to stop this! You have to stop putting yourself in these dangerous situations and begging me to bail you out! I’m sorry, but you’re my best friend and I can’t just sit back and watch. I can’t continue enabling this dangerous and self-destructive behavior! One of these days I’m going to already be helping someone else, and you’re going to get yourself hurt! Or I will be a minute too late. Or I won’t sense you. Or I won’t be able to help someone else because I’m too busy helping <em>you</em> out of a situation that <em>you</em> placed yourself in to begin with! Someone’s going to get hurt!”</p><p class="Preference">“What? But–” Sent-Bee gasped as she was covered in yellow light.</p><p class="Preference">“I’m sorry, but this is the last time,” Impératrice Pourpre told her as the connection faded. The Akuma detached from her hair tie, shifted back to white, and fluttered away.</p><p class="Preference">A moment later, Chloe’s phone rang as she was walking away from the scene, Bee-atrice cradled in her arms. On glancing at the caller ID, she groaned. “What?” she demanded.</p><p class="Preference">“If you get yourself into trouble again, I’m going to call whoever’s on patrol tonight to swoop in and rescue you,” Sabrina told her. “If I remember the schedule correctly, it’s King Monkey and Cat Noir…”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe paled. “No way!” she gasped, glaring at the offending device. “There is no way you can send Kim and <em>Adrien</em>! I am <em>not</em> going to be some damn ‘damsel in distress’ for them to rescue!”</p><p class="Preference">“Then you’d better get back to the hotel before that happens, shouldn’t you?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chloe saw Sabrina approach her from across the entrance hall and fixed her with a withering glare. It had been close to one in the morning when Chloe finally got back to her penthouse – she’d had to walk instead of taking the “hero express” as usual – and she’d slept poorly. Of course, that wasn’t exactly something new. Even though it had been weeks since her abduction, Chloe’s sleep schedule was still off, and not just because Pollen had always helped wake her up. She had tried everything: sleeping with or without a nightlight, on the couch, the bed, the floor, even in the bathtub. With or without blankets. Nothing felt quite right. After being forced to live with harsh white light burning into her eyes constantly for a week, she was still sensitive to the light – she wore her sunglasses most of the time, even indoors. And yet after being woken up for “questioning” at all hours she didn’t feel safe without <em>some</em> light at night. Her penthouse was just too quiet and empty. Marinette had offered to let her use the Dog Miraculous, but Barkk just was not the same as Pollen. Tikki and Nooroo had both offered to stay with her overnight, but it still wasn’t the same. Having another Kwami in the room just reminded her of the Kwami she’d lost.</p><p>Her father had bought Bee-atrice for her the moment she had finally admitted to him what had happened over spring break. He hadn’t exactly been <em>happy</em> to find out that she had been missing for a week and him none the wiser. He had suggested that she leave the Heroes of Paris – she didn’t have a miraculous, after all, so why should she put herself in danger? Besides, he was angry that the Heroes had hidden her abduction from him. Chloe, however, had scoffed at that: the Heroes of Paris were the ones who <em>rescued</em> her, after all. They had thought that hiding her abduction from him was necessary to keep her safe and give them time to find her.</p><p>In the end, he had simply hugged her tightly and bought her a puppy. When he’d asked what breed she wanted, the only choice she even considered was a “Papillon”: after all, it was a <em>papillon</em> that had rescued her from Lynchpin! She felt a little better with the tiny dog sprawled out on her bed, but even still she wasn’t sleeping as well as before the whole ordeal had started.</p><p>“Hi,” Sabrina called when she got close, her smile faltering. “How are you?” Her eyes narrowed in concern and she opened her mouth to say something else, but Chloe put a hand up to forestall it.</p><p>“I don’t want to hear it,” Chloe growled irritably, turning and storming off. “After everything that happened, you would seriously abandon me? Ridiculous!”</p><p>Sabrina hurried to keep up. “I’m <em>not</em> ‘abandoning you’!” she defended heatedly. “I’m saving you from yourself! You’ve been putting yourself in danger and expecting me to bail you out! I can’t keep on doing that! What if I’d already been busy? What if I’d acted a second too late?”</p><p>“How am I supposed to be a hero without Pollen?” Chloe demanded, eyes flashing with anger. The anger died away as soon as it came, and Chloe found herself blinking back tears. “What am I now when I’ve lost my miraculous?”</p><p>“You are still Chloe Bourgeois,” Sabrina told her softly. “You’re still my best friend.”</p><p>Chloe ignored her, focusing instead on the boy directly in front of them who was already on his way over to greet them. “Max!” she almost shouted. A glance was enough to confirm that no one was close enough to overhear their conversation. Nevertheless she reduced her volume to little more than a whisper. “You’ve been working on some new tech, right? Got anything that might work for me? <em>Someone</em> decided I can’t be a hero anymore.” She threw a glare at Sabrina to emphasize the point.</p><p>“Hello, Chloe, Sabrina. How are you?” Max replied, grinning excitedly. “I–” He broke off whatever he was about to say and cocked his head, looking past Chloe in surprise. His expression shifted rapidly. “I am sorry, but I do not have any suitable equipment ready at the moment,” he finally finished.</p><p>“I’m sure you don’t,” Chloe deadpanned, her eyes darting to the side, where Sabrina was fighting to maintain a poker face. “Do you expect me to forget the mess on your lab table every time I go in there? You had a few new toys for Alix to play around with weeks ago, before Kim had even recruited her, so why don’t you have anything for me???”</p><p>“Chloe,” Max began hesitantly, “I do not think this is an… appropriate… time for you to be thinking about this. You are still recovering from the trauma. Perhaps–”</p><p>“You don’t have to coddle me, Kanté.” Chloe dropped her voice to an ominous growl. “I am a hero – or at least I was.” She groaned. “Fine. As if I need you, anyways.” She turned and stormed off, pointedly ignoring the concerned look on Sabrina’s face as she passed.</p><p>The morning passed in a blur, Chloe barely able to concentrate on the lectures – a problem that had begun right after Spring Break and <em>still</em> hadn’t resolved itself. She fully realized that the only reason she was still on top of her schoolwork was because Sabrina and Max were sharing their notes and helping her with her homework. Even still, it was only a matter of time before her lack of concentration would finally catch up with her. At lunch time, she got up from her desk, ignored Sabrina, and raced out into the hallway before anyone could speak to her.</p><p>“Hey, Chloe!” Adrien ran up to her before she’d gotten more than a few meters, Marinette in tow. “Are you okay this morning?”</p><p>“Why does everyone keep asking me that today?” Chloe grumbled as she allowed them to steer her into a deserted classroom. “Did you all have a meeting I wasn’t invited to or something?” One look at the expression on Marinette’s face and she groaned. “Oh, no. You did, didn’t you? That’s what this is all about? Don’t even <em>bother</em> trying to lie, Dupain-Cheng; you can’t lie worth a damn anyways. Your face already gave it away.”</p><p>“We’re sorry, Chlo,” Marinette began, “but Sabrina told us what’s been happening. We’re… we’re worried about you.”</p><p>“You’ve been acting recklessly,” Adrien added, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. “We don’t want to see you get hurt because you don’t have a miraculous.”</p><p>“The last two weeks have just been so rough on you that we want you to focus on yourself and recovering from everything that happened to you,” Marinette finished.</p><p>“Do you think I’m <em>broken</em>, that you need to treat me with kid gloves?” Chloe narrowed her eyes threateningly and pushed Adrien’s hand off her shoulder.</p><p> “What? Of course not!” Marinette insisted, eyes shooting wide open and glancing up at Adrien in fear.</p><p>“I’m not good enough without a miraculous, am I?” Chloe could feel her eyes starting to water.</p><p>“That’s not what we’re saying at all, Chloe,” Adrien said calmly.</p><p>“That’s why you cut me out of patrolling, isn’t it?” Chloe asked, setting her jaw firmly. “Fine. Whatever. I guess I really <em>am</em> not good enough for you.”</p><p>“Chloe!” Adrien called, reaching out to stop her.</p><p>Chloe shoved past him and stormed out of the room in a huff.</p><hr/><p>Chloe avoided Adrien, Marinette, <em>and</em> Sabrina for the rest of the day – if they wanted to treat her like she was broken, she didn’t have to give them the time of day, either. A small part of Chloe’s brain that sounded a little like Pollen whispered that she was being unfair to her friends, that she needed to give them a chance to explain themselves. But that voice had been getting quieter since she lost Pollen, drowned out by Chloe’s bitterness and anger at the injustice of it all. This wasn’t her fault! She was a hero! She was a good person and a good friend – for the first time in her life she could look at herself objectively and like what she saw. And yet, she had lost all of that when she lost her miraculous.</p><p>Maybe Lynchpin was right: Maybe her desire to recover the Bee Miraculous <em>was</em> about more than just rescuing Pollen.</p><p>So wrapped up was Chloe in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice the girl walking beside her until she spoke.</p><p>“How are you, hero?” Lila asked, raising an eyebrow at her innocently.</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean, Rossi?” Chloe retorted, glaring at her.</p><p>“Nothing!” Lila replied, holding her hand up placatingly. “I’m just wondering how you are. It doesn’t take a mind reader to see that you’re on the outs with your friends. I’m worried about you.”</p><p>“Whatever may or may not be going on with me and my friends is no business of yours, <em>Rossi</em>.”</p><p>“Oh, but it is!” Lila insisted. “I mean, you <em>are</em> one of the best heroes we have in Paris, and I do live in Paris. People look at you and see someone they can trust to keep us safe. Sure there’s Ladybug and Cat Noir and the rest, but they are <em>Heroes</em>. They’re not <em>people</em>. You… you are a person, someone we can know and feel close to.” She giggled. “But it’s been a while since we saw Queen Bee out protecting the city. How are the people supposed to feel safe without you out there protecting us? With all the rumors flying around, I’m concerned for you. I would hate to find out that Paris’ superhero was unhappy and wouldn’t be keeping an eye on us!”</p><p><em>A lot </em>you<em> care</em>, Chloe thought darkly, though she bit back the retort. “I’m fine, Lila,” she said instead. “Paris isn’t in any danger.”</p><p>“Considering how many times you’ve been Akumatized to fight those vicious, nasty criminals,” Lila told her, “I don’t know how well I would believe that. I’m just afraid that Paris is getting to be <em>less</em> safe now, even <em>with</em> Hawk Moth gone, than it was before!”</p><p>“That has nothing to do with it!” Chloe retorted. “I just haven’t been using my miraculous as much lately.”</p><p>Lila covered her mouth. “Don’t tell me it got damaged!” she gasped. “That would be horrible! Isn’t that what happened to Mayura’s – what did you call it? ‘Marvelous’?”</p><p>“It’s a <em>miraculous</em>, Rossi, and no, my miraculous didn’t get damaged,” ground out Chloe, clenching her fist. “I’m just not using it for the moment.”</p><p>“What? Is Ladybug giving you a break from being a hero? I’m sure that’s what you need; after all, you’ve been working so hard for such a long time, and even <em>after</em> defeating Hawk Moth!”</p><p>“It’s not like I <em>wanted</em> her to sideline me!” Chloe burst out angrily. “I <em>want</em> to help! I <em>want</em> to be a hero! It’s the thing I’ve wanted more than anything else for three years! And suddenly I’ve lost it!”</p><p>“How could Ladybug treat you like that?” Lila wondered, an expression of shock on her face. “Everyone knows how valuable you are to the Heroes of Paris. Doesn’t Ladybug trust you anymore?”</p><p>Chloe glared at her sourly. “Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t,” she answered. “But either way, I think that’s between me and Ladybug, don’t you agree?”</p><p>“Oh, certainly!” Lila assured her, putting up a hand in a placating gesture. “I would never want to get between you and Ladybug! But…” She chuckled nervously. “… it sounds like something already <em>has</em> gotten between you and Ladybug.” Lila was quiet for a moment before she shrugged. “Well, I hope that whatever it is you can get it resolved soon. I would hate to think that Ladybug would hold something against her friend and teammate for no good reason.” And with that, Lila walked away from her.</p><p>Chloe stood still on the school’s front steps, finding herself wondering –for the first time in her life – whether there might actually be a grain of truth to one of Lila’s stories.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="Preference">Chloe was staring down at the floor as she walked through the hotel’s front door. The doorman called a greeting and tipped his cap to her, but she ignored the gesture and pushed past him inside. It was early evening, so the lobby was crammed full of people trying to check in and find their rooms, dragging huge suitcases behind them. Chloe kept her eyes on the floor in front of her, avoiding meeting the eyes of anyone else in the room. She didn’t want to see the looks of pity from the employees, all of whom realized that something was different about her over the last couple weeks. Alya had put a story on the Ladyblog after her rescue reporting that Queen Bee would be stepping back temporarily after having an especially difficult time fighting a water demon – where she’d ever come up with <em>that</em> cover story, Chloe didn’t know. It would keep people from wondering about Queen Bee’s disappearance, but it wasn’t all good. Since that article came out the hotel staff had been treating her like a fragile china doll, liable to break at the slightest provocation.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe sidestepped around a particularly large pile of luggage and nearly stumbled over an amplifier. “What inconsiderate <em>jerk</em> left a stupid amplifier sitting in the middle of the lobby?” she almost shrieked, looking up and glaring at the guests milling around. Her eyes went wide as her vision turned green. She yelped as the crocodile bowled into her, toppling her backwards over the amplifier and onto a trio of duffel bags.</p><p class="Preference">“Fang! What have I told you about jumping on people?” a woman’s voice shouted a couple meters away. The crocodile was dragged off of her, and Chloe looked up to see Penny Rolling tugging on the crocodile’s rope. “I apologize, Chloe,” Penny told her, struggling to keep Fang at bay. Fang was panting happily, his mouth hanging open in his version of a smile. “Usually he’s a little better-behaved than this, but Jagged has been giving him entirely too much freedom lately!” She glared at the man in question to emphasize the point.</p><p class="Preference">“It’s like I tell you, Penny, love,” Jagged Stone called out, throwing an arm around Penny’s shoulders affectionately, “I can’t <em>cage</em> my partner in heroics! Fang here is a superhero after our last visit here!” He struck a pose with his foot on Fang’s back. “Guitar Hero and Super Fang!”</p><p class="Preference">“Oh, no,” Chloe groaned, covering her face with one hand. She glared at the offending rocker. “I thought I cured you of that ridiculousness <em>last</em> time!”</p><p class="Preference">“Chloe!” Jagged shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her upright. He set her on her feet and threw his arms around her in a hug. “Just the hero I was looking for! Totally rock and roll to bump into you like this!”</p><p class="Preference">“<em>You</em> didn’t bump into <em>me</em>,” she retorted, arching an eyebrow at him dubiously. “Your crocodile bowled me over your amp! What are you doing here, anyways? I thought you weren’t supposed to be back in Paris again until next month.”</p><p class="Preference">“I wasn’t,” he agreed with a nod, “but a couple of tour stops canceled on me at the last minute, so I’m not expected in Rome for another three days! And I figured, why let this time go to waste when I can record a couple of new music videos with the Heroes of Paris for my next album! It’s gonna be <em>super</em> rock and roll!” He spread one arm out wide holding his guitar and pulled her close with the other.</p><p class="Preference">“So what does that have to do with me?” Chloe asked, confused.</p><p class="Preference">Jagged released her and ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. “I – er – I don’t actually have contact numbers for any of the people I want to be in my music videos,” he explained, grimacing.</p><p class="Preference">“You planned to make music videos at the last minute without checking with the people who are supposed to be in them,” she deadpanned, arching an eyebrow at him. She looked past him at Penny, who was shaking her head and rubbing her temples in exasperation. “And I’m supposed to <em>help</em> you with this?”</p><p class="Preference">“It’s all my Hero songs,” he explained. He grinned conspiratorially. “You wanna be in a video with me, <em>Queen Bee</em>?”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe raised her eyebrows at him. “This… isn’t exactly a good time for me to be thinking about the Heroes of Paris,” she finally mumbled.</p><p class="Preference">“What?” he asked, furrowing his brows in confusion. “But… you were always so enthusiastic about it. What’s got you so down on it all of a sudden, love?”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe stared at him. If she’d cared to ask Max, he would have immediately said that the odds of her <em>ever</em> spilling her heart out to <em>Jagged Stone</em> a month ago had been approximately zero. He had no business knowing what Lynchpin’s men had tried to do to her, what they had <em>actually</em> done. He had no business knowing what Lynchpin had stolen from her. But knowing the rock star, there was no way he would give up until he’d gotten <em>something</em> from her, so she decided she had to divulge a little piece of the truth. “I… no longer have a miraculous,” she answered, frowning. “I’m not sure if I’m even still one of the Heroes of Paris.”</p><p class="Preference">“What?” yelped Jagged loudly, eyes widening in shock. Eyes turned to look at them from all around the lobby. Chloe glared at him and hissed, and at a softer volume he continued, “What? That’s insane! You’re a superhero through and through!”</p><p class="Preference">“Yeah, well, I’m not feeling too <em>super</em> at the moment,” she muttered, “so…” She turned to storm off to the elevators.</p><p class="Preference">“Wait! Hold up!” Jagged stumbled after her and caught her arm just as she was about to get on the elevator.</p><p class="Preference">She glared at him and jerked her arm out of his grip, simultaneously pulling back her other arm to punch him in the nose. She caught herself just in time. “I don’t need a miraculous to put you on your back,” she growled.</p><p class="Preference">Jagged put his hands up in a placating manner. “Easy there, love,” he said, slowly peeling her hand off of his arm and taking a step back. “I just–you are a hero,” he insisted. “The Owl and I were planning to go out on patrol tonight – for old times’ sake – and… d’you want to join us?”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe stared at him. “You want <em>me</em> to go on patrol with <em>you</em> and the <em>Owl</em>??? Are you out of your mind?”</p><p class="Preference">“Of course not!” Jagged grinned. “It would be totally rock and roll to go on patrol with two of the true Heroes of Paris!”</p><p class="Preference">“There is no way I’m going out on ‘patrol’ with you lovable losers,” Chloe growled, storming into the elevator.</p><p class="Preference">Jagged put his hand on the door to prevent it from closing. He sighed. “If you want to be a square about it… But let me know if you change your mind!”</p><p class="Preference">“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” she informed him, leaning back against the back wall of the mercifully-empty elevator. “Now do you mind?”</p><p class="Preference">“Ah! Of course!” He let go of the door, which started to close.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe sighed and closed her eyes. The elevator jerked once more, an instant before the doors would have shut entirely. She opened her eyes to see Jagged Stone giving her a look that was a mix between embarrassment and the most pathetic puppy-dog eyes she had ever seen. She arched an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”</p><p class="Preference">“Um, er, well… Do you think you could ask Ladybug about recording my music videos?” he asked, clasping his hands in supplication.</p><p class="Preference">She stared at him nonplussed. “You want me to ask Ladybug about being in a music video with you,” she repeated. “Ridiculous,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.</p><p class="Preference">“Not just her,” he added quickly. “Her and Cat Noir, Anansi, Carapace… I already asked the Owl.”</p><p class="Preference">“And you didn’t think to have <em>him</em> talk to Ladybug?” Chloe asked rhetorically. She rubbed her forehead. “You really do deserve each other… Fine. Sure. Whatever. I’ll send Ladybug a message. She’ll probably call you herself to let you know; she does have your number.”</p><p class="Preference">“Wait… Ladybug has my number?” Jagged’s jaw dropped open as his arm fell to his side and the elevator door finally shut.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe leaned back against the side of the elevator and closed her eyes. She couldn’t even bring herself to laugh at the irony of Jagged Stone fanboying over his own fashion designer. At the moment she wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed, curl up with Bee-atrice, and hope for tomorrow to be better. Her friends were upset with her. Everyone thought she was broken. She wasn’t a hero anymore. She couldn’t <em>be</em> a hero anymore, not without Pollen. She barely noticed when the elevator doors opened on the penthouse level.</p><p class="Preference">She did, however, notice when Bee-atrice jumped on her, yipping excitedly, before she’d even stepped out of the elevator. Chloe picked the dog up and carried her over to the couch, where she flopped down and let Bee-atrice rest on her stomach. The dog bounced up and down, her tongue hanging out in excitement. “At least <em>you</em>, like me, right, Bee?” she murmured, scratching behind her ears. Bee-atrice’s tail wagged animatedly and she closed her eyes, a soft humming sound emanating from her throat. Chloe groaned and covered her face with a pillow. “I feel like such a failure. How could I let one of my best friends fall into that <em>monster</em>’s hands? How could I ever call myself a hero again after doing something like that?” She threw the pillow across the room and glared at Bee-atrice, who licked her nose. “It’s not really surprising that the others don’t want me to be a hero; I wouldn’t want me to be a hero again, either.”</p><p class="Preference">Bee-atrice barked, jumped off the couch, and found a ball on the floor. She nudged it over to rest next to Chloe’s hand before licking her fingers. Absentmindedly, Chloe pushed the ball across the floor, chased by the over-excited dog. Bee-atrice picked the ball up and brought it back. Chloe tossed the ball a few more times for the dog to chase while scrolling absently through her phone. There were about fifteen messages from Marinette, twenty from Adrien, and nearly fifty from Sabrina, but she ignored all of them. She sent Marinette a quick message to pass along Jagged Stone’s request, then shut the phone off and rolled onto her side to take a nap. Presently Bee-atrice hopped up on the couch, turned around in a small circle, and curled up behind Chloe’s legs. Chloe fell asleep to the low rumble of the puppy’s breathing.</p><p class="Preference">A couple hours later, Chloe woke up feeling no better than she had when she had fallen asleep. Even Bee-atrice’s comforting warmth couldn’t replace Pollen’s soft buzz. She looked around the room. The shadows had shifted and it had grown dark. The sun was just barely above the horizon. She looked up at her bed and her eyes fell on Pollen’s favorite pillow, sitting next to her own. A glance down at her legs showed Bee-atrice sitting up and looking at her, tongue hanging out and panting. Her leash was lying across Chloe’s legs.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe groaned. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this, Bee,” she commented, pushing herself up off the couch. She picked up the leash, at which Bee immediately jumped down to stand in front of her, wagging her tail in excitement. That settled, she grabbed her purse, took out her phone, and turned it back on. Ignoring the bevy of new messages she found Jagged Stone in her contact list. “Jagged? I’m in.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="Preference">Chloe put on her best walking shoes, grabbed her favorite yellow jacket, and slung her purse over her shoulder. She gave Bee-atrice’s leash a tug, and the puppy trotted onto the elevator at her side, tail wagging excitedly. Chloe met Jagged in the hotel lobby five minutes later, took one look at him, and stopped dead in her tracks. He was wearing his “Guitar Hero” costume with his portable amp slung over his shoulders like a backpack. A guitar unlike any she had ever seen before was in one hand, and Fang’s rope was in the other. He had even dyed his hair bright blue and stuck it up in spikes. “I can’t believe I’m actually asking this, but what are you wearing?”</p><p class="Preference">“What does it look like? I’m Guitar Hero!” Jagged struck a pose with one foot on Fang’s back and windmilled his arm, striking a chord on his guitar.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe face-palmed. “Let me rephrase: <em>Why</em> are you wearing that???” She held a hand up. “No, never mind. I’m pretty sure the answer is <em>still</em> ‘I’m Guitar Hero.’ Ridiculous,” she muttered. “Does Marinette know you’re using the <em>second</em> version of this costume to pretend to be a superhero? <em>Again?</em> After the first one got ruined because you tried being a superhero in it?”</p><p class="Preference">“Of course!” Jagged insisted, nodding. He grinned sheepishly. “Er… well… that is to say… I may have failed to mention it… But,” he added quickly, “it’s not really a lie: no one’s <em>pretending</em> to be a superhero!”</p><p class="Preference">“This is a terrible idea,” Chloe observed, shaking her head and rubbing her temples, “but I don’t really care at the moment. Come on.”</p><p class="Preference">“What’s with the fluff-ball?” Jagged asked as they stepped through the hotel doors together, eyeing Bee-atrice suspiciously. Fang sniffed the puppy, pulling her fur up in all different directions. Bee-atrice, meanwhile, let out a low growl at the crocodile and bared her teeth.</p><p class="Preference">“Bee? She’s my guard-dog!” Chloe smirked and picked the dog up, holding her in front of Jagged’s face. The dog stopped growling at once and started panting happily, her tongue hanging out. “See? Aren’t you intimidated?”</p><p class="Preference">Jagged sneezed in the puppy’s face, and a puff of hair blew out of her coat. “The only thing <em>intimidating</em> about that thing is the amount of hair!” he retorted, giving the dog a look of horror. Bee-atrice tilted her head to one side, let out a high-pitched sneeze, and licked his nose, yipping happily.</p><p class="Preference">“Oh, lighten up,” Chloe told him, rolling her eyes. She put Bee-atrice back down, and the dog jumped on Fang’s back and sat down. “See? She likes Fang!”</p><p class="Preference">“Just keep that thing away from me,” Jagged grumbled, rubbing his nose and tugging on Fang’s rope to push the crocodile into waddling faster.</p><p class="Preference">“So why don’t you like dogs?” Chloe asked, eyeing him curiously. “Are they too adorable for you?”</p><p class="Preference">“‘Adorable’?” he scoffed. “<em>Those</em> bundles of hair? I’m pretty sure Fang could polish off your fuzz-ball in one mouthful and still have room for more!” Chloe gave him an annoyed look and he quickly added, “I mean… dogs’re nice and all, but anything with fur is just… totally not rock-and-roll enough, ya dig?” He gestured toward Fang, who was wagging his tail happily, Bee-atrice perched contentedly on his back. “Now, Fang, <em>he</em>’s a rock-and-roll pet, don’t ya think? You’ve got all kinds of people with pet dogs – no offense, love – but I’ve hardly met <em>anyone</em> else who had a pet crocodile!”</p><p class="Preference">“So what about a pet bear?” Chloe asked, arching an eyebrow at him. “Would <em>that</em> be rock-and-roll enough for you?”</p><p class="Preference">“A <em>bear</em>?” Jagged gaped at her. “Who has one of those?”</p><p class="Preference">“King Monkey,” she replied, smirking. “Or at least he <em>tried</em> to adopt one for the Heroes of Paris. But Ladybug put her foot down.” She shrugged. “Speaking of, did she call you yet? I sent her that message.”</p><p class="Preference">“She absolutely did!” Jagged enthused, plucking a few strings on his guitar in excitement. “She’s all over this thing, promised to get as many of your Heroes together tomorrow afternoon as she could find so we can film these videos! You’re amazing, love!”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe shrugged. “At least <em>someone</em> appreciates me,” she muttered glumly.</p><p class="Preference">“What was that?”</p><p class="Preference">“Nothing.” She shook her head dismissively and glanced further down the street. They were walking in front of a cluster of bars one block down from the hotel. Loud music emanated through the closed doors, blending together into a cacophony of sound – Celtic and rock and blues, all competing together for prominence, with one then another suddenly growing in volume as a door opened. Jagged winced at the discordance, but reached behind himself and adjusted a knob on his amp before starting to pick out a melody on his guitar. Chloe cocked her head to listen. She wasn’t musical by any stretch of the imagination – Adrien had tried to get her to come to Kitty Section rehearsals, but she had found an excuse to bow out every time – but somehow whatever melody Jagged was playing blended together all of the noise around them into something that almost made sense. She heard a steady thrum underneath the music that she couldn’t place; with a start she realized it was coming from Fang’s throat. The crocodile’s swaying tail slapped the bus stop they were walking next to in a steady rhythm. And then Bee-atrice started yipping along with the music. “Great,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I’m wandering Paris in the middle of the night with a one-man-one-crocodile-one-<em>dog</em> band!”</p><p class="Preference">A man stumbled out of the bar at the end of the block and nearly fell to the ground. Jagged at once stopped playing and rushed forward to catch the man and help him stay upright. The man looked up at Jagged, his eyes unfocused, and put a hand on his face. “Whassa… whassa you?” he slurred.</p><p class="Preference">“Sorry, mate?” Jagged gave him a look of confusion and caught his hand before he could shove a finger up Jagged’s nose.</p><p class="Preference">“I–I knowa you,” the man mumbled, looking down at Jagged’s jacket. “You’rea–you’rea Jagge Stoan, aintcha?”</p><p class="Preference">“That’s me!” Jagged grinned and struck a chord, his foot on Fang’s back. “Always rock-and-roll to meet a fan!”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe stared at the drunk nonplussed as he tried to hold his phone up for a picture. She face-palmed: getting their picture all over Instagram wouldn’t exactly help them keep a low profile – or at least not with Jagged Stone along… She hurried up to the guy and caught his phone a moment before he dropped it. “How many have you had?” she asked him. He held up his hands and started counting on his fingers in confusion. “Ridiculous.” She sighed. “Sit down. I’m calling you an Uber.” The man stumbled over to the bus stop and slid down to the ground, nearly taking Jagged down with him. Bee-atrice hopped off of Fang’s back, jumped into the man’s lap, and started licking his face. “Utterly ridiculous,” Chloe muttered at the puppy as she navigated the app. The moment she had confirmation, she tugged on Bee-atrice’s leash, turned to Jagged, and said, “Let’s get going.”</p><p class="Preference">“So is this what you Hero lot do?” Jagged asked once they’d passed the bars. “Call Ubers and talk to drunks?”</p><p class="Preference">She shrugged. “Sometimes it is,” she told him. “At least on that block. Of course, sometimes there’s a bar fight to stop.” <em>Or one to start,</em> she thought with a snort, remembering her last patrol with Multiplice. A drunk had made a snide comment at the bus stop about Taureau Dechaine being the dumbest of the Heroes. Queen Bee had nearly had to Venom Multiplice to pull her off the guy. Chloe almost laughed at the memory, but the laugh died before it could even start.</p><p class="Preference">About fifteen minutes later they arrived outside of Collège Françoise Dupont, where the Owl was waiting for them on the collège steps. Chloe felt mixed emotions on returning to the collège. On the one hand, looking back she could admit that she had been utterly terrible to her classmates – almost all of the other students had been Akumatized at least once because of her. At the same time, however, if it weren’t for this collège and the friends who had stuck by her in spite of it all, who knows whether she would have recognized the need to change? She saw Ladybug for the first time while a student there. That, more than anything else, had changed her life.</p><p class="Preference">The Owl waved enthusiastically and threw an arm around Jagged’s shoulders. “Ah, my friend!” he shouted. “Shall we depart on another adventure?”</p><p class="Preference">“Let’s rock and roll, Owly, mate!” Jagged grinned back, holding his guitar out and pumping it in the air. Fang wagged his tail, his mouth hanging open in an approximation of a smile. On his back, Bee-atrice yipped excitedly, her tail thumping on the crocodile’s scales.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe groaned. “I can’t believe I agreed to this,” she muttered, shaking her head.</p><p class="Preference">“I say, what are you doing here, Mlle Bourgeois?” the Owl asked in surprise, finally noticing her.</p><p class="Preference">She rolled her eyes. “The Jagged Guitar Nut asked me to come along and <em>babysit</em> you two adorkable dumbasses,” she retorted with a smirk, flicking her ponytail and putting a hand on her hip.</p><p class="Preference">“So… are you going to transform, my dear?” the Owl asked, eyes wide with excitement.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe frowned. “I… don’t have a miraculous at the moment,” she replied. She put a little more arrogance into her tone and added, “Seeing how the other half lives for a change.”</p><p class="Preference">The Owl’s eyes shifted to Jagged skeptically. “I am uncertain how I feel about taking a teenager along this evening,” he observed. “Especially since this is a school night, young lady.”</p><p class="Preference">“Are you kidding?” scoffed Chloe, arching an eyebrow and tossing her hair. “First, I’ve been a Hero of Paris longer than <em>you</em> have, M. Damocl-Owl! You’ve been superhero-ing alongside teenagers for months now, remember? You can’t pretend you didn’t know how old at least <em>I</em> was all along. And now you know Ladybug and Cat Noir, how old <em>they</em> are. A little rich to beg off of it now, don’t you think? And second, all of us have gotten used to operating on a little less sleep after patrol nights. That just comes with being a hero.”</p><p class="Preference">“You still need your rest, my dear. And anyways, teenagers with superpowers are one thing,” he retorted with a huff. “It’s bringing along a teenager <em>without</em> superpowers that concerns me.”</p><p class="Preference">She arched an eyebrow at him. “You realize Daddy’s only a couple years away from asking you to retire, right? Besides, you don’t have any superpowers, either!” Chloe folded her arms and glared at him. It was one thing to have Ladybug and Cat Noir tell her she couldn’t be a hero anymore; it was something else entirely coming from the <em>freaking Owl!</em> “Besides, if anything bad happens, Impératrice Pourpre can always…” Her voice trailed off. <em>Right. She won’t. I’m on my own.</em></p><p class="Preference">“I do not need super<em>powers</em> to be a super<em>hero</em>!” the Owl declared, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. His cape billowed behind him in a sudden gust of – <em>wait… why the hell did Max agree to add a </em>fan<em> to the back of his utility belt???</em> – “For I am… the Owl! Hoo hoo!” He grinned. “Besides, I spent much of the Spring Break training with King Monkey!”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe started at him deadpan, blinking in shock. She rubbed her temples and shook her head. “You… of <em>course</em> King Monkey would train you… you deserve each other…” she muttered to herself. Looking up, she saw identical expressions of confusion on her companions’ faces. “The point is,” she told the Owl, glaring at him and putting a hand on her hip, “if <em>you</em> can play superhero without powers, then so can I. Got it?”</p><p class="Preference">“Very well.” The Owl shrugged. “I will not stop you, Mlle.”</p><p class="Preference">She smirked. “Please. As if you ever <em>could</em> stop me!” She glanced between them. “So… what’s the plan?”</p><p class="Preference">The Owl looked at Jagged, eyes wide. Jagged looked back at him, equally dumbfounded. At the same time they both turned to her and shrugged. “We’re… not sure, actually,” the Owl admitted sheepishly. “Last time, Anansi was the one with the plan. And I–”</p><p class="Preference">“–You’ve done exactly three things with the Heroes of Paris in the past year and we haven’t actually included you in our patrol rotation,” Chloe finished, face-palming. “Right. In other words, you have no idea what you’re doing and you two would be completely lost without me here.” She rolled her eyes. “Looks like you need a <em>real</em> hero to show you how it’s done!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="Preference">“We usually start our patrols from the Eiffel Tower,” Chloe called over her shoulder, setting a brisk pace for her mismatched companions to follow. Bee-atrice trotted excitedly in front of Chloe, her tiny legs almost a blur as she tried to keep up. Behind her, Fang slapped his tail against the sidewalk with every step, creating a steady rhythm. And to that rhythm, Jagged Stone was finger-styling a melody that Chloe vaguely recognized from his most recent album. “Is that ‘The Owl and the Guitar Hero’?” she asked, turning partly around to look at him incredulously.</p><p class="Preference">“Yeah!” replied Jagged excitedly, riffing. “Topped the charts for three weeks straight! The last couple o’ tours, that was the smash hit! Totally rockin’!”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe snorted and rolled her eyes. Leave it to Jagged Stone to turn wandering around in the middle of the night with a <em>crocodile</em> into a chart-topping hit new single! She had only ever been marginally interested in Jagged Stone’s music – her father was far more interested in the business advantage of having Jagged Stone as a hotel guest – but she had enjoyed some of his hero-inspired songs lately. Even <em>if</em> he hadn’t bothered to mention Queen Bee in “The Ballad of the Butterfly”…</p><p class="Preference">The Owl and Guitar Hero… neither of them had any superpowers, and yet they went out and tried to help people – or at least the Owl did. Jagged Stone, Chloe was sure, just enjoyed the thrill. But still, he had invited her to come along, even knowing that she didn’t have her miraculous. He thought she was a hero. And as a consequence, for the first time since she fought her way out of her imprisonment, she had actually called herself a hero. Why was that?</p><p class="Preference">In part, she supposed it had to do with Ladybug and Cat Noir removing her from the patrol rotation. Since they defeated Hawk Moth, the vast majority of their hero activities happened during those weekly patrols: stopping muggers, preventing kidnappings and rapes, capturing bank robbers… Without being able to go out on patrol with the other Heroes, what was Chloe supposed to do with herself? How was she supposed to be a hero?</p><p class="Preference">That was part of the reason she had started “patrolling” on her own last week, looking for trouble and counting on Sabrina to Akumatize her to help her out.</p><p class="Preference">Well, Sabrina had made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t going to do that again anytime soon.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe sighed and resumed scanning the streets they were walking down. In the distance she could see the Eiffel Tower looming above the skyline. Shuffling footsteps behind her indicated the Owl hustling to catch up to her.</p><p class="Preference">“So, er… what exactly <em>are</em> we going to do this evening, Queen Bee?” he asked, wheezing to catch his breath, when he had caught up.</p><p class="Preference">Without looking at him, she shrugged. “Same thing we usually do on patrol,” she answered. “We look out for people acting suspicious, help anyone who looks like they need help, stop anyone trying to commit a crime. If we find any information about Lynchpin and his goons, so much the better.”</p><p class="Preference">“Huh.” The Owl was silent for a moment. “That does not sound like what we did with Anansi last time,” he observed.</p><p class="Preference">“Well, Anansi may have agreed to join the Heroes of Paris, but she is on a completely different level,” Chloe responded, turning to lead them across the bridge on the far side of the Eiffel Tower. “She’s only interested in Lynchpin; she doesn’t worry too much about other criminals. Of course, I’m pretty sure she sees lynchpins in her sleep… But the rest of us can’t be so myopic on patrol.”</p><p class="Preference">The Owl hummed. “So where are we going from here?”</p><p class="Preference">“When we patrol, we try to hit some of the most important spots on a regular basis,” explained Chloe. “Other than that, we rotate the areas we patrol so we cover the entire city a couple times a week. Ladybug and Miss Pinky are scheduled to patrol tonight, and knowing Ladybug they’ll probably cover everything south of the Seine, leaving us free to head north. There’s been a string of burglaries in the area around the Arc de Triomphe lately, so we may as well check in on that neighborhood.”</p><p class="Preference">“Very well,” the Owl agreed, nodding eagerly. “You are the expert here!”</p><p class="Preference">“And don’t you forget it!” Chloe smiled. She was the expert, wasn’t she? <em>Of course</em>, she mused, <em>considering that the other options are the Owl and Jagged Stone…</em> Compared to them, she was definitely a superhero, superpowers or not. She shortened Bee-atrice’s leash somewhat to keep the puppy close to her side. Bee-atrice yipped and jumped up and down, her tongue hanging out in excitement. She stopped to sniff at a tree, and Chloe tapped her foot impatiently while the Owl continued on ahead of them.</p><p class="Preference">Suddenly, Jagged was right next to her and throwing his arm around her shoulders. “Isn’t this a simply rock and roll night?” he enthused. “We’re three heroes out fighting crime and keeping the city safe!”</p><p class="Preference">“Not like we’re doing much of that standing here waiting for Bee to finish doing her business,” Chloe retorted, gently pushing his arm off.</p><p class="Preference">“Details, details,” Jagged replied dismissively, fingering his guitar contemplatively. “The point is… I’ve got an idea for another song!”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe stared at him nonplussed. “… Is that why you wanted to do this? Inspiration?”</p><p class="Preference">Jagged ran a hand through his spiked hair and chuckled in embarrassment. “Maybe?”</p><p class="Preference">“You are utterly ridiculous,” she told him, rolling her eyes. “At least try to include <em>me</em> in this one!” She picked up Bee-atrice and jogged to catch up with the Owl. Behind her, she could hear Jagged panting as he tried to keep up, with Fang’s heavy steps almost shaking the sidewalk under her. The Owl had gotten almost a block ahead of them and was standing in the middle of the sidewalk under a streetlight, staring up at the building next to him.</p><p class="Preference">As Chloe approached him, he put a hand out in a gesture to stop, and she reluctantly did so, simultaneously holding out her arm to hold Jagged back as well. The Owl quietly shuffled back toward them and whispered, “I thought I saw someone duck behind that bush!”</p><p class="Preference">Jagged grinned and struck a chord. “Does that mean we have some–”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe put one hand over his mouth, grabbed the guitar neck with the other, and hissed, “Genius, the point of the whispering is to <em>be quiet</em>! We <em>don’t</em> want them to hear us if they’re criminals!” She kept her eyes on the building in question, shifted into Hero-mode, and turned to the Owl. “Where exactly did you see them?”</p><p class="Preference">The Owl pointed at a pair of ornamental bushes right against the apartment building’s façade, directly beneath the front windows of a ground-floor apartment. Chloe gestured for the other two to stay back while she approached slowly, stepping carefully on her tiptoes. When she was less than a meter from the closest bush, she removed Bee-atrice’s leash, placed her on the ground, and whistled. Bee-atrice bounded under the bushes and yipped excitedly. The bushes started shaking back and forth, and Chloe heard someone yelp in surprise. A girl jumped up and stumbled out from behind the bushes, looking around in a panic. “Bee! Come, girl!” Chloe called. The dog raced back out, and Chloe reattached the leash. “I think we found your robber,” Chloe observed wryly, glancing at the Owl, who had run up beside her, Owlet in hand.</p><p class="Preference">The girl appeared to be a year or two younger than Chloe with dark hair. She was dressed casually and had a backpack in one hand. She looked back and forth between Chloe and the Owl before her eyes bugged out on catching sight of Jagged Stone standing behind them.</p><p class="Preference">“Now, my dear young lady,” the Owl began, folding his arms, “what exactly are you doing behind those bushes.”</p><p class="Preference">The girl stared at him in shock, mouth hanging open, for a full minute.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe face-palmed. “So is this <em>your</em> house or your boyfriend’s house?” she finally asked, arching an eyebrow.</p><p class="Preference">“My–my boyfriend’s house,” mumbled the girl, staring hard at the ground to hide her flushed cheeks.</p><p class="Preference">“You can stand down, Owl,” Chloe told him, putting a hand on the Owlet and forcing it back down to his side. “No need to get worked up.” She turned to the girl. “I assume your boyfriend will let you in soon?”</p><p class="Preference">When the girl nodded, Chloe asked her rhetorically, “Do you really want a boyfriend who makes you hide in the bushes in the middle of the night?” She muttered, “Utterly ridiculous.” Without a backward glance she tossed her hair, started down the sidewalk, whistled for Bee-atrice to follow, and called out, “Come on, boys. <em>She</em>’s more scared of <em>you</em> than <em>you</em> are of <em>her</em>!”</p><p class="Preference">They walked another couple blocks when suddenly, Bee-atrice bolted for a tree, pulling the leash out of Chloe’s hands. “No, Bee!” she shouted, giving chase. “Get back here!”</p><p class="Preference">Bee-atrice ignored her and ran past the tree, stopping just outside of an alleyway beyond. Her hackles stood up on end as she crouched low to the ground and growled. Chloe stopped right next to her and reached down for the leash but hesitated on hearing the sounds coming from the dark shadows midway down the alley. Her eyes narrowed, and she stepped a little further into the alley, disappearing into the shadow cast by the streetlamps. She could make out a patch of deeper darkness moving around slowly.</p><p class="Preference">“No… stop…” a high-pitched voice whimpered, but was immediately muffled. A deeper voice whispered, “Shut up, or I’ll <em>give</em> you something to cry about!”</p><p class="Preference">“Hello?” Chloe called hesitantly, reaching into her purse. Her fingers wrapped around her red toy Ladybug yo-yo. <em>What I wouldn’t give for my </em>top<em> right now!</em> Chloe strained her ears for another sound, but the alleyway was silent. She was just about to back out when she heard another whimper. Behind her, Chloe heard heavy, plodding footsteps. “I’m warning you!” she called more confidently. “Come out now, or you get eaten!”</p><p class="Preference">A figure separated from the darker section near the ground and stood up. He stood nearly a head taller than Chloe herself, with bulging biceps. He leered down at her. “Cute threat,” he scoffed, folding his arms. “Am I supposed to be scared of that rabbit next to you?”</p><p class="Preference">“What, Bee?” Chloe asked, tugging the puppy closer to herself and arching an eyebrow at him. “Of course not. What self-respecting criminal would be scared of <em>her</em>?” She stepped to one side. “Now <em>Fang</em> on the other hand…”</p><p class="Preference">The man’s jaw dropped open and he pointed a shaking finger at the end of the alley. Fang waddled past Chloe, his mouth hanging open and his tail waving from side to side. “What – what the hell is that thing doing here???”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe leaned against one side of the alley. “What, this little guy?” she asked, casually examining her fingernails. “I thought everyone brought a vicious man-eating crocodile with them when they wandered the streets at night! So much safer that way, don’t you think?”</p><p class="Preference">Fang knocked his head into the man’s knees, which buckled, sending him tumbling to the ground. The crocodile crawled on top of him and rested its head on his chest. The man grunted and started whimpering as the crocodile growled at him.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe edged around the man and approached the shape quivering next to the wall. She saw a woman only a few years older than herself, her legs pulled up to her chest. “Hey, shh, it’s okay,” Chloe whispered, hesitantly putting a hand on the woman’s arm. “You’re safe now. That loser won’t hurt you again.”</p><p class="Preference">“Th–thank you,” the woman stuttered. Chloe carefully helped her to her feet and escorted her out of the alley, to where the Owl and Jagged were waiting. She stared at the three of them in shock. “Who…?”</p><p class="Preference">“Um…” Chloe looked her companions over and shrugged. “I guess we’re the Heroes of Paris tonight.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>“The Owl and the Guitar Hero” is the finished version of the song he wrote during “A Jagged Ride with the Owl. Anansi was also there, but she asked him (repeatedly) to leave her part out. And he’s not stupid – all evidence to the contrary! “The Ballad of the Butterfly” is the song he wrote after “Tit for Tat,” when Impératrice Pourpre Akumatized him into Guitar Hero to help them stop a robbery at a fashion show.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Chloe is kind of earning that “Teen” rating in this chapter. Not nearly as bad as in “The Queen is Dead,” but all the same… consider yourself warned.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="Preference">Chloe looked up at the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. The sight – like that of the Eiffel Tower earlier – evoked bittersweet memories. She remembered the nights of patrolling with Adrien and Marinette and Kagami and the rest. She remembered racing Ladybug through the Eiffel Tower, sparring with King Monkey on top of the Arc, sitting and talking with Rena Rouge in the silent Trocadéro on a moonlit night. Without the Heroes of Paris, where would she be now? <em>In bed</em>, she thought with a chuckle, pulling her jacket close and tightening her grip on Bee-atrice’s leash. <em>Probably not wandering the streets after midnight with these two!</em></p><p class="Preference">Her quiet reverie was interrupted, however, by the sound of breaking glass in the distance. She glanced back at the Owl and Jagged Stone, who were a few paces behind her with Fang plodding along between them. Jagged appeared to be lost in his own little world, pretending to play an air-drum set. The Owl, however, had perked up: his eyes were scanning the buildings on either side of the street for the source of the noise. Chloe slowed down to let the others catch up.</p><p class="Preference">“I think it came from the street to the east,” she muttered, “but I couldn’t tell for sure. I’ll check that street. Owl, you go west, and Jagged will keep going straight. If you find something, call the others.”</p><p class="Preference">The Owl nodded. “Very well, Mademoiselle. You are the one with the experience!”</p><p class="Preference">“And don’t you forget it!” she smirked, turning down the street to the right. She jogged quickly to the end of the block and turned left, Bee-atrice padding along at her heels. Chloe glanced up at the buildings to either side – rows of overpriced apartment buildings – looking for anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t see anything unusual near the buildings’ roofs.</p><p class="Preference">She did when she looked a little lower.</p><p class="Preference">The front door of the nearest apartment building swung open on its hinges, with its glass window shattered. Chloe quickly pulled out her phone and typed a message even as she moved closer to the building. Bee-atrice let out a yip and raced ahead, but Chloe grabbed the dog around her torso and picked her up, holding her muzzle shut with one hand. “No, shh, Bee,” she whispered soothingly, her eyes still trained on the broken door. “Quiet, girl.”</p><p class="Preference">As she approached, Chloe could hear muttering coming from inside the building. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and fumbled in her purse, slipping her toy yo-yo’s loop over her finger and making a fist around it. The sounds from inside became louder and more distinct, metal scraping on wood. Cautiously, Chloe stepped in front of the door.</p><p class="Preference">“Well, look what we have here…”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe’s heart nearly stopped on hearing the all-too-familiar voice from inside. “Rene,” she observed, eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. She leaned against the doorframe and gave him an arrogant smirk. “I would have thought you were still licking your wounds after that beating I gave you last night!”</p><p class="Preference">The man in question stepped out of the shadows of the interior hallway and into the light cast by an outside streetlamp. His nose was puffed up and swollen; in the poor lighting the bruising around his eyes looked like a black mask. “Oh, you definitely gave me something to think about last night,” he agreed, moving closer. “I did think about licking those wounds you gave me. Of course, I think it might be a little more… <em>enjoyable</em> for you to lick them instead! Don’t you think, <em>sweetie</em>?” His voice dropped to an ominous tone. “And I’m not talking about my nose…”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe’s grip on her purse tightened in white-knuckled fury. “Why don’t you make me?” she asked, setting her jaw. “I always wanted to ‘take a <em>bite</em> out of crime’!” She dropped Bee-atrice, yelping, to the ground. Rene’s eyes dropped to follow the dog. Simultaneously, Chloe swung her purse backward, over her head, and brought it smashing down on his head. Bee-atrice bolted out the front door, barking shrilly, as Rene stumbled backward. Chloe paced forward into the hallway, eyes glinting dangerously, and raised her fist to strike. Her arm was grabbed from behind, and she turned to find herself face to face with a trio of Rene’s thugs.</p><p class="Preference">“Did you really think I was out here alone?” Rene mocked, shaking his head and pushing himself upright. “I knew you would keep coming after me, so I set up this little show for you to draw you out. And don’t worry about butterflies: my boys outside are already on the lookout for any butterflies trying to help you out.”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe scoffed. “Joke’s on <em>you</em>, moron: Impératrice Pourpre’s done with using Akumas on me. Of course,” she added, eyeing him appraisingly, “I didn’t need superpowers to pop your weasel yesterday, so what makes you think I’d need them today?”</p><p class="Preference">“I’m gonna make you regret that, you little <em>bitch</em>!” Rene shouted, lunging forward.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe spun to the side as much as she could while her wrist was still held from behind. Rene’s lunge missed her and instead caught the chest of the man holding her. He gasped and released his grip a moment before he fell backward and Rene landed on top of him. The other two thugs surged forward over their fallen comrades, joined by more from outside, as Chloe regained her balance and raised her fists defensively. She swung her purse again and caught the closest goon in the side of his face before ducking under a swipe and punching the next one in the gut, her knuckles tightening over the yo-yo. Her fist stung from the impact, but the victim let out a satisfying grunt. Strong arms grabbed Chloe from behind and lifted her off the ground. Chloe struck out with both legs simultaneously, knocking the man directly in front of her tumbling backward over Rene. The man holding her stumbled and his grip loosened slightly. Chloe wriggled one arm free, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and pulled. He screamed and released her, fumbling to relieve her hold on his hair.</p><p class="Preference">“Who’s next?” Chloe called, glaring wildly at the smaller men still standing in front of her.</p><p class="Preference">Before any of those in front of her could act, a bellowing roar came from outside the building, which was almost immediately drowned out by heavy rock guitar. Chloe smirked as the goons looked at each other uneasily. “You didn’t think <em>Bee</em> was my only backup tonight, did you?” she asked arching an eyebrow. A couple near the doorway turned to look outside before nudging their neighbors, all of whom backed out. Chloe followed them slowly, and stopped, leaning on the doorframe, to watch the melee outside.</p><p class="Preference">The Owl was standing on one side of the street with a half-dozen thugs in a semi-circle around him. As Chloe watched, he threw a pair of Owlet boomerangs, striking one of the men to his side, before charging in and laying another one out cold. He punched a third in the side and the man convulsed before falling to the ground.</p><p class="Preference">Meanwhile, Jagged had approached from the opposite direction with Fang, who had waded into the group in front of the apartment building, which included a man in a mechanized suit. Chloe recognized him from Ladybug’s description of the new Mecha-Man. Fang’s tail waved from side to side, bowling men over left and right as he zeroed in on Mecha-Man. Mecha-Man aimed one of the cannons mounted on his arms at the crocodile, only for it to be caught in a grappling hook. The Owl pulled back, and Mecha-Man’s energy beam shot harmlessly into the sky. Fang turned his head and bit one of the leg supports on Mecha-Man’s suit. Mecha-Man screamed and dropped to one knee before smacking Fang with his fist.</p><p class="Preference">Jagged for his part held his guitar with both hands on the neck and swung it in a chopping motion at the two goons directly in front of him. “Come on, you lot!” he shouted exultantly. “Let’s see how you handle hard rock!” He laid one of the thugs out cold, spun around, and struck a chord before turning on the other one.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe felt something tugging on her pant leg and glanced down to find Bee-atrice. The dog let go, looked behind Chloe, and growled. Her eyes widening in realization, Chloe ducked and spun around, a moment before Rene would have hit her in the back of the head. “Trying to hit a lady in the back?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. “Not very chivalrous of you…” She dodged to the side to avoid a kick.</p><p class="Preference">“I’m gonna beat you ugly,” he growled. “Then I’m gonna use you up.” He held a piece of wood that he’d torn off the doorframe in both hands and swung it at Chloe’s chest. “And only when you beg for <em>death</em> will I <em>maybe</em> put you out of your misery!”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe dropped into a crouch to avoid the blow and kicked him in the side of the knee. He grunted in pain and dropped the wood. “Talk like that, you must be a real hit with the ladies,” she taunted, grabbing the discarded lumber and tossing it out the doorway behind her. “Me? Sorry, but I am <em>not</em> interested in playing with your <em>wood</em>!”</p><p class="Preference">Rene pushed himself forward with a cry of frustration and knocked Chloe backward, landing on top of her. He pinned her legs with his feet and grabbed her wrists in one hand, holding her firmly in place. “Now,” he breathed, grabbing her shirt with his free hand and leaning in close to her face so she was staring directly into his eyes, “we are going to play. And then you are going to <em>wish</em> I’d just killed you.”</p><p class="Preference">She struggled against his iron grip, but he was just too strong for her. He leaned closer and she closed her eyes and turned away. She shouted the first thing to come to mind: “Again, Rene: breath mints!”</p><p class="Preference">Rene screamed.</p><p class="Preference">The pressure on Chloe’s wrists eased slightly. Without hesitating, she pulled one hand free and punched him in the gut. He grunted and released her entirely. Opening her eyes, she was shocked to see Bee-atrice hanging on to Rene’s nose with her teeth, an uncharacteristic snarl coming from the puppy’s throat. Rene sat back and pushed the dog away, just as Chloe grabbed a perfume bottle out of her purse, which had landed next to her head. Rene looked back at her and she threw. The bottle hit the bridge of his nose and shattered. He reached up with both hands to wipe the perfume and glass shards away, moaning in agony. Seizing her chance, Chloe pulled both legs up to her chest and kicked him, hard, in the shoulders. The force pushed him to his feet and he stumbled out of the apartment building foyer and tumbled down the front steps. Chloe kipped to her feet and raced out after him.</p><p class="Preference">Rene was near the sidewalk when Chloe left the building. Most of the commotion outside had died down. Mecha-Man and a trio of Rene’s thugs were retreating down the street, followed by Fang. Rene turned the opposite direction, away from the Owl and Jagged Stone, who were standing over a small pile of prisoners. Chloe wound up with her toy yo-yo and released, wrapping the string around Rene’s legs. Chloe pulled her yo-yo tight, tripping him up and snapping the string. Rene fell to the ground and barely caught himself with his arms. Bee-atrice leapt on him in an instant and bit down on his ear. Rene shrieked.</p><p class="Preference">“Hold, Bee!” Chloe ordered, running up and kneeling next to the thugs’ fallen leader. “You’re not going anywhere,” she told him, grabbing the back of his head and forcing him to look her in the eye. “Now you are going to answer my questions, <em>right now</em>, or I’m going to let Bee nibble on you. She’s small, so that could take a while. But thanks to you and your <em>friends</em>, I know how to be patient!”</p><p class="Preference">Rene glared back at her and tried to push himself up, but Chloe smacked him in the nose again and he fell back to the ground with a howl of pain.</p><p class="Preference">“Let’s try this again,” she said, wiping her hand on his shirt in disgust. Bee-atrice tugged on his ear and he whimpered. “Are you ready to answer my questions?”</p><p class="Preference">“<em>Ow</em>, yes, yes, fine!” he groaned, wincing in pain. “I’ll tell you whatever. Just… get that <em>rat</em> off me!”</p><p class="Preference">“Good girl,” Chloe praised, batting Bee-atrice to release Rene’s ear. The puppy let go and looked up at Chloe, panting happily. Chloe smiled at the dog before turning back to Rene, a hard look in her eyes. “Now, tell me everything about Lynchpin. Where is he keeping the miraculous?”</p><p class="Preference">“I don’t know anything about that!” Rene exclaimed. He threw his hands in front of himself protectively as Chloe feinted to cuff his bitten ear. “No! Really! I’d tell you if I did! He doesn’t tell me anything! I just get my orders from a burner phone!”</p><p class="Preference">“Where’s the phone?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="Preference">“… and then I caught my yo-yo around his legs and he fell down,” Chloe finished. She was standing on the sidewalk, Bee-atrice sitting next to her, while the police officers loaded Rene and his goons into the backs of a half-dozen police cars. Not for the first time, Chloe was grateful that her best friend’s father was a police captain.</p><p class="Preference">Captain Raincomprix nodded and closed his notepad. “Thank you, Chloe,” he told her, patting her shoulder reassuringly. “We’ve been after these guys for a while now. There is no way that one–” he pointed his thumb at Rene, who was glaring at them from the back of Raincomprix’s car while holding a cloth over his nose “–is getting out again anytime soon.” He leaned in closer and whispered, “It’s the least we can do after his role in what happened to <em>you</em>.”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise.</p><p class="Preference">“Rena Rouge dropped by last week to explain the situation,” he explained. “She wanted to make sure if it turned up again that we were prepared – and that we would let you Heroes know right away.”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe nodded, eyes darting around to the other officers. “It’s just… we’ve been trying to keep it quiet as much as possible.”</p><p class="Preference">Raincomprix gave her a sympathetic look. “I understand,” he assured her. “I still haven’t shared it with more than a handful of my men.”</p><p class="Preference">She sighed in relief. “Thank you.”</p><p class="Preference">“Of course.” He turned to look around the scene. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get my suspects booked and locked up – this could take a few hours! I trust you can make your own way home?”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe smirked and sent a message. “We do have a teleporter on our team, so… yes.” She turned and walked away, Bee-atrice at her heels, back to where the Owl and Jagged were waiting midway down a dark alley, Fang lying on his back in front of them. “I’m surprised you didn’t want the police to know about your involvement,” she observed, raising an eyebrow.</p><p class="Preference">“Ah, heh, well, you see…” Jagged began nervously, rubbing Fang’s belly. “Penny doesn’t know I decided to do this.”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe stared at him. “You are utterly ridiculous,” she groaned. “Where does she <em>think</em> you’ve been this whole time???”</p><p class="Preference">“Um… out getting drinks with an old friend?”</p><p class="Preference">She face-palmed and shook her head. “You… you are something else, you know that?” She turned to the Owl. “Can you make sure this knucklehead gets back to where he belongs?”</p><p class="Preference">“But of course, Queen Bee!” the Owl exclaimed, throwing an arm around Jagged’s shoulders. His cape billowed behind him. “Just leave that to… the Owl! Hoo hoo!”</p><p class="Preference">“Oh,” she called as they were leaving, “thank you. For inviting me tonight. I… I needed this.”</p><p class="Preference">“You are very welcome, my dear!” the Owl replied. “You can join us any time!” He grinned. “Say ‘hello’ to my good friend Pegasus for me!”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe rolled her eyes just as a portal opened next to her. She picked up Bee-atrice and stepped through without another glance at her erstwhile companions, coming out in Max’s lab in the Heroes’ Headquarters.</p><p class="Preference">“How was your adventure with ‘Guitar Hero’?” Pegasus asked, closing the portal and de-transforming. Sabrina sat at one of the stools on the far side of the lab table, fiddling with something that looked like a water pistol.</p><p class="Preference">“You knew about him?” Chloe asked, slightly surprised.</p><p class="Preference">“Marinette placed a tracker on his second Guitar Hero outfit,” he explained, chuckling. “She suspected that he might attempt to reenact his last misadventure again. And I admit, I did calculate at least a 78% probability that he would do so tonight! The tracker alerted me the moment he left the hotel, and we came down here to monitor your progress.”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe glanced at Sabrina, who shrugged. “I didn’t know Mar had done that, either, until tonight,” she admitted. “But now I’m glad she did.”</p><p class="Preference">“The night wasn’t a total waste,” Chloe told them, pulling Rene’s phone out of her purse. “I got this from their leader. He said this is how Lynchpin contacted him.”</p><p class="Preference">“Cheap burner phone,” Max commented, turning it over in his palm. He plugged it into a port on his computer. “Less than a week old. I am unsure of how much information we can glean from here, but I shall analyze it and find out everything we can,” he promised.</p><p class="Preference">Sabrina set down the water pistol, raised an eyebrow at Chloe, and gestured toward the door. Chloe nodded and followed her out of the lab and across the garden into the grotto. Bee-atrice raced off, yipping excitedly, chasing after the few moths fluttering around after midnight. Sabrina sat down on her usual mat and gestured for Chloe to sit on the mat opposite her, a question in her eyes.</p><p class="Preference">Chloe sat down and drew her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees. Staring at the grass between them she whispered, “I’m sorry.”</p><p class="Preference">“What?”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe raised her eyes and gave her a look. “I said, ‘I’m sorry,’” she repeated, trying and failing to sound irritated. “I realize I was being childish. I was putting a lot on you by going out and looking for danger. You had every right to be upset and worried about me, and I shouldn’t have snapped at you the way I did. It wasn’t fair of me to expect you to ‘save’ me every night.”</p><p class="Preference">Sabrina simply smiled at her. “You never needed me to ‘save’ you,” she replied calmly. “You are a hero. I know that, Mar and Adrien know that, <em>all</em> the Heroes know that. You proved that – even after the Bee was stolen. You just needed to learn it for yourself and stop being so reckless. Mar and Adrien never even considered kicking you out of being a Hero of Paris. They were just trying to help you recover from what happened and regain that confidence you’d lost.”</p><p class="Preference">“I know.” Chloe let out a breath. “It’s just… on top of everything else… Do you know what Lila told me after school today? She thought there might be a rift between me and Ladybug. I know she’s full of crap, but…” She shrugged. “Sometimes she starts to make sense – at least when it’s what you’re already thinking.”</p><p class="Preference">“You don’t need to tell <em>me</em> that,” Sabrina pointed out, making a disgusted face. “I still remember last year…” She put a hand on Chloe’s. “No one ever blamed you. No one ever was upset with you. We just wanted you back to being… well… <em>you</em>.”</p><p class="Preference">Chloe nodded. “I know – I knew it this morning, I think.” She smiled wanly. “But it’s good to hear it anyways. I didn’t mean to lash out at everyone today. You know that, right?”</p><p class="Preference">Sabrina gave her a look and raised an eyebrow at her. “You realize I sense your emotions, right? Even the ones you refuse to acknowledge? Of course I knew that!” She sobered and continued, “Mar and Adrien knew that, too.”</p><p class="Preference">“That’s good.” Chloe looked up and smirked. “I will get Pollen back one of these days,” she announced, eyes narrowing in determination. “But no matter what, with or without my miraculous, I <em>am</em> a hero!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chloe did omit part of the truth in her statement (she told Captain Raincomprix what happened but left out that the Owl and Jagged Stone were also there). However, the Heroes of Paris have an understanding with the Paris Police, specifically Captain Raincomprix: they trust him to handle things legally, and he trusts them to help the police when possible/necessary. When something needs to go through the legal system, they bring it to him. He accepts that they can’t tell him everything because that gives him a degree of plausible deniability.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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